Printers of the type to which this invention pertains have many applications and uses. They may be used as part of a point-of-sale terminal to print receipts, etc. Printers of this type may also be used to generate labels on which alphanumeric characters or symbology, i.e., barcodes are printed.
These types of printers often utilize thermal print technology to print indicia on print medium. Thermal printing involves a thermal printhead which uses heating elements to produce localized heating on thermal reactive print media to produce indicia on the print media. In order to effect the printing process, the print medium must be clamped between a platen and the thermal printhead. The printhead is normally spring biased towards the print roller in order to provide the required clamping force.